Microsoft founder Bill Gates, whose net worth was pegged this year at a mere $43 billion, is making his ninth consecutive appearance at No. 1 in Forbes magazine's annual list of the 400 richest people in America.

More than half of those ranked on this year's list are billionaires.

Eight people are from San Diego or have ties to the region, including McDonald's heiress Joan Kroc, who ranked at No. 100 with an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion.

Padres owner John Moores, who must have been flying below Forbes' radar in past years, was one of 16 newcomers to this year's list. Moores came in at No. 329, with an estimated net worth of $740 million.

Yet the Forbes list, now in its 20th year, just isn't what it used to be.

Even though Gates came out at the top of the pile, his net worth fell roughly $11 billion in the past year. As a Forbes news release noted, that's more money than most of us can even imagine having.

The Microsoft founder's net worth peaked at an estimated $85 billion in 1999, but that was before the travails of Microsoft's antitrust trial, the popping of the dot-com bubble and the meltdown of tech stocks in general.

The recent trend for Gates in particular also was true for the list in general: The total net worth of all 400 people amounted to $872 billion in 2002; down from $946 billion in 2001 and $1.2 trillion in 2000.

Value investor Warren Buffett was among the few whose net worth actually increased. His net worth grew from $33 billion to $36 billion over the past year.

The list reflects some other turmoil as well.

Martha Stewart, the diva of domesticity who's now embroiled in legal troubles and allegations of insider stock sales, was a no-show on Forbes' 2002 list. Last year, she ranked No. 381, with an estimated net worth of $650 million.

Also conspicuously absent were Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems, Steve Case from AOL-Time Warner and John F. Welch Jr., the retired head of General Electric.

They were among 35 people who fell off the 2002 list, even though the minimum net worth required to make this year's list was $550 million – compared with the $600 million needed to make it last year.

Two San Diego names that dropped off both came from Qualcomm: co-founder Andrew Viterbi left the company in 2000 and now operates an investment group; Neil Kadisha resigned from Qualcomm's board in May to concentrate on his Omninet Capital portfolio companies.

Qualcomm's founding chairman and CEO, Irwin Jacobs, was still holding on at No. 332, though his net worth fell to $725 million from $1.6 billion last year.

Gateway founder Ted Waitt, who moved his build-to-order computer company to San Diego in 1998, was ranked at No. 149, with personal assets of $1.3 billion.

Helen K. Copley, chairman and emeritus publisher of The San Diego Union-Tribune, ranked No. 285 with assets of $840 million. Another San Diegan on the list was Margaret Anne Cargill, who was listed at No. 362 with assets of $640 million.

Though he is technically a resident of Stockton, Alex Spanos maintains close ties to San Diego as owner of the San Diego Chargers. He was ranked at No. 277 with assets of $850 million.

Wal-Mart heir John T. Walton, who's officially from Durango, Colo., maintains a second home and several offices in National City. Walton, whose net worth is estimated at $18.8 billion, was tied with several relatives at No. 4.